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Encroachments spoil Rabindra Kacharibari

Ahmed Humayun Kabir Topu, Palma
Rabindra Kacharibari at Shahzadpur in Sirajganj is gradually losing its beauty as construction activities and encroachment close in on the archaeological site.
The expansion of the adjoining cloth market had now touched the backyard wall of the heritage site, said Md Mujibar Rahman, custodian of the structure, which once belonged to Rabindranath Tagore and currently houses a museum in honour of the poet.
Despite requests from the archaeology department, the Shahzadpur municipality authority was yet to take steps to free the site from the encroachment, he added.
Md Nazrul Islam, mayor of Shahzadpur municipality, said it was difficult to find a solution to the problem immediately.
The size of the market grows every day, he said, with new shops being set up near the backyard wall due to a lack of accommodation elsewhere.
A plan to construct permanent buildings to accommodate more shops has been submitted, the mayor explained, adding that the archaeological site could be freed from encroachment once the crisis is solved.
Meanwhile, the foundation of a five-storey building has illegally been laid near the front-side wall of the age-old structure.
No concrete structures can be built within 250 metres [buffer zone] of a heritage site that undermine the status of the structure, and cause an impediment to visibility of the site, according to the Antiquities Act, 1968, (amended in 1976).
But influential quarters, including local businessmen, had started the construction work before the Kacharibari gate last year, Mujibar said, adding that the ground floor of the building had been completed by June.
Shirin Akhter, director general of archaeology department in Dhaka, issued a notice to the deputy commissioner of Sirajganj on 23 June to stop further proceedings of the construction work, said the custodian of the Kacharibari.
The construction of the first floor was stopped according to the order, said Shahzadpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Russel Subrin.
"The builders filed a case with the High Court against the administration, and sought permission to resume the construction work. But the court did not issue an order in this regard," the UNO added.
Md Nasim Uddin Malitha, a locally known researcher of Rabindra literature, told the Daily Star that the heritage site was losing its value to the illegal settlements.